And andrew



o. & A. SPRING.

Childrens Carriage v Patentedl Mar. 19, 1867.

Invemas. v

' SPRING, .GEWEST-ON, MASSAGEUSETTS.l Lean-s Pannuti; 62,976, ma Marat19, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN 'GAEEIAGES TOE GETLDEEN.

die rlgehulc nirtrrt-*tau-tlgese nettes glzitent mit linking intl nftigt 5min.

TO ALL WHOM IT" MAY CNCERN:

'Be it known that we, CHARLES SPRING, Dorchester, Norfolk county, andANDREW SPRING,WestoiniMiddlel sex county, all in the State-ofMassachusetts, have invented an improved Ohilds Carriage; and we 'dohereby declare that the following, taken in connection with the drawingswhich accompany and. form part of tliis specification, is adescription`of=our invention suicient to enable those skilled in the artto practise it.

v The. invention relates to the construction of thatjclass of carriagesfor children in which thc front portion ofjthe'body is supported bya'third4 or leadingpivhcel. l -As usu'ally applied, this leading wheelismade to run in and only in a vertical plane parallel to the planes ofthe main ivheels, or if allowed to turn-,on a vertical 'axis or journalpin, this axis is placed directly over 'the horizontal axis onivliichthe -wheel turned.

The object ofour-invention-'has been to so connect this wheelwith thecarriage body -or frame that it Will immediately accommodate itself toany direction in which the carriage is" turned, or be brought into aplane corresponding with thisturning movement without lifting the Wheelfrom the ground, or applying force thereto other than the direct forceusedQin propelling the carriage.. This is accomplished. by connect-ingthe leader wheel to the carriage frame by means of a vertical rotaryaxis placed. out of thevertical plane of the axis ofthe wheel, so thatin propellingthe carriage the axis of this wheel shall always followbehind-'the verticalaxis, the journal boxes of the wheel turningWhenever the direction of movement ofthe carriage is changed...

Ourinvention, therefore, consists primarilyini combining ivith thecarriage body and its two main wheels and stationary axle, a third'orleaderlivh'eel 'Whose journals form part of a rotary frame or yoke,having av vertical axis turning freely in a bearing arranged out ofvertical line of the horizontal axis on which the wheell turns. I l v yA, in the drawing, represents, partly in elevation and partly inlcentral section, a carriage embodying the invention. vB is a side -viewof inner end of pole andadjacent parte. vC, a plan of front endof theframe lconnecting the carriage body and leader wheel. Thevca'rriage bodya, axle Z1, and main Wheels c, do n ot'di'er in their construction orarrangement from other carriages of' this class. At the front of thecarriage4 is a frame, with which is indirectly connected a pole, e, fordrawingvthe vehicle, and at the rear of the carriage isa horizontalbar,f, for pushing the carriage. Fixed to or b eloiv the under side ofAthe frame d, at the front end thereof, is a circular bearing plate, g,having a tubular spindle, L, in which is journalled avcrtical rotaryshaft or pin, t', extending froinfa plate, k, fitting in or against theplate g, the plate 7.: beingxed to and so as t0 form part of a yoke, l,straddling vthe wheel, and having at the lower ends of its two armsbearingsfor the axle m of a leader wheel, n. The shaft z' beingmaintained in vertical position by the fixed positionjof the tubularspindle h, the arms ofthe yoke Z are curved or inclined, so that theaxle mis journalled out of vertical line of the shaft t', as seen at A,the distance between the'perpemlicnlail line of the shaft z', and theaxle in, 'bein'g"such, that in whatever direction the shaft z' ispropelled, and however this'direction ischanged, the yoke Z swings roundso as to follow the shaft t', enabling the carriage to be 'turned'with'perfect 'ease and in either direction without lifting the Wheel,and whether Athe oarriagc'be draivn from' the frontor pushed frombehind. VIn order to bring the shaft into verticalposition in usingleader wheels of different diameter, the arms of theyoke Z are securedto' 'vertical plates p', (forming thc-ends of the cross-piece making the'top of the yoke) by screws g, (asseen at 13,).

turning on said screws, and being adjusted in position byscrews r, and aseries of adjusting ,holesa p The lower ends of the yoke arms may beprovided with a seriesof' holes t, by which the front end of thecarriage mayjbe set higher or lower with the same wheel (by. shiftingthe axle,) or maybe maintained at Athe saine .position in i usingldifferent leader Wheels.' For adjusting the sha-ft t' vertically, bot-hin the plane of the wheel and in a plane transverselyithereto, thespindle h is set in a tube, u, projecting Vfrom a4 hemisp'liciicalball-piece, 11, setting in a'. corresponding hemispherical socket,'w,fixed to the frame d, the' ball-piece v, and socket-piece beingconnected together by a screw,w, which extends through a slot, intheball-piece, and into a nut, y. For accommo# dating the position orheight of the pole to the person drawing the carriage, it is so appliedto the carriage Aby a connecting-pin, z, as to be capable of a verticalmovement.v vIn order',`l1owcver, to enable. the carriageto be' easilycontrolled in'snking into depressions, andl riding over obstructions,the-extent of vertical in'ovcm'entfof. the polo is limited byconstructing the pole with a rear 'extension bringing-'up against theplate'fywhen the pole liiNnnEvv is raised, and so applying the pole thatit rests against the plate y infront of the pin vz when the fiole falls.When reaching a depression, by lifting the pole, the rear extensioncomes against the'plate g, and allows 4the front wheel andfforward partof thecarriage body to be lifted until the depression is passed,`\vhilein passing'ovel, an obstruction the wheel/'nay be similarly raised, orif the wheel is allowed to rollover the obstriiction it will do sowithout disturbi '.5 he front of the vpole.. In order. to constitute thecarriage body into a crib, (an4 arrangement that'is found veryconifenien) ne combine with the frcntp'aijt of the body a' box, o,havingon each side a guardor wall, the box fitting down into'the body,as shownby the dotted lines at A, so tliatw'hen pillows are arranged inthe carriage, a secure crib is formed in which a child may rest incomfortable position and without danger of falling out.

We claim, in combination withitherbo'dy, stationary axle, and two mainWheels of a cliilds carriage, a

lleader wheel, n, whose'axis is supported -in journals arranged outjo'fline`wilth the shaft z', substantially assbown and described. l Y

Wealso claim themeans or mechanism for .relative adju's-tinentof theshaft z', and acle m, and for changing the position of the axle,substantially as describen. 1 v

Also the arrangement ofthe pole so as torbe capable of u. verticalswinging movement when this-movement is fixed-and determined,substantially as sot forth. i Also combining with the' carriage body thecrib box o,.substantially as"described;

y CHARLES SPRING,

ANDREWv SPRING.

Witnesses:

J. BL CROSBY, F. GoULD.

